“The pregnant body produces a hormone called relaxin. This is what loosens the pelvis making it mobile to help your baby be born. However, this can also cause waddling! I also refer to this as “feeling like a Barbie with her legs pulled off.” This is only temporary, and while it may be a pain now, come birth time you’ll be rather grateful!” – Pregnancy Week by Week

It’s little nuggets of information like this that help me feel less embarrassed about my body during pregnancy. I laugh about it rather than let it stress me out- usually (I am hormonal sometimes and can cry about anything on a bad day).

Hannah is a little bit camera shy— or rather, David-shy. Every time I look at her and smile, her happy expression usually turns sour and she heads for her mom crying.

In our last encounter, I held her for a short while as her mom helped her siblings pile into the family van. She stared at me cautiously but I think she grew to be comfortable with me. When I handed her off to Jenni, I was able to snap a few shots of her and she wasn’t as camera-shy. Like all her siblings, she has great eyes.

For the first time, I was quite satisfied with the sharpness that came from my newest lens. Perhaps I’m finally getting better acquainted with a zoom lens after primarily using a 50mm prime for over two years.

It’s amazing that even a book launch could be an event. I guess the cynic in me says that our culture is caught up in the next big thing, but the optimist in me enjoys that people can celebrate everything and anything.

I feel like I’ve spent a ton of time behind my camera and post-processing on a computer all this week. Jenni and I worked on a photo job on Sunday and Tuesday, took photos at a going-away party on Friday, snapped shots at the Portland Swing Dance Club dance, and an engagement party today.

For the photo job, I ordered a new lens in preparations. I’m thankful to have a wife who encourages me to exercise the freedom (and the responsibility) with our finances and purchase a high-quality (and high price) lens. But the low-light shots I’m able to get now will pay for themselves in the long run.

I love the tropics! Especially Maui since our honeymoon was there. And I love the flowers there, specifically Hibiscus flowers. In college, my roommate, Iruru, had a beautiful red one, and since then, I’ve been keeping my eye out to buy one for myself. So yesterday, when I found some at New Season’s, I was so excited! David bought me one for my birthday, and I’m so happy every time I look out the window to see the gorgeous blooms on my porch.

We did it. As the first step to buying our future home, we took the plunge and paid off all of Jenni’s remaining school loans. We were going to pay it off over the next year, but we’ve learned that it’s not how much we have that determines the house loan we can get, but how much we can pay out monthly. One more step closer to buying a house!